Mr. Speaker, since the Prime Minister himself is talking about the next Liberal government, I want to point out that a Liberal government will rescind the unconstitutional retroactive legislation his government is trying to pass.

The Conservatives are simply trying to pass this legislation to hide their own wrongdoing when they interfered in the RCMP's business and violated the Access to Information Act.

Is it not time that the Access to Information Act covered the operations of the Prime Minister's Office and of his ministers?

Mr. Speaker, once again, this government made a commitment to people in the regions that it would eliminate the long gun registry and impose mandatory minimum sentences on people who commit crimes with long guns and firearms. That is the policy and law in this country. That is the policy established by this Parliament, and the RCMP respects that.

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are leaving too many Canadians behind. Under their watch, we have lost 400,000 good manufacturing jobs, and people are pushed to precarious work with no benefits and no job security.

Since 2008, two-thirds of all jobs created in Ontario have been part-time, temporary, or in self-employment.

Instead of giving handouts to the wealthy few, will the Conservatives give a break to the hard-working families who actually need one?

Pierre PoilievreConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, the NDP confirmed today that its only plan for jobs is to raise taxes on those who create them. New Democrats want to raise taxes on business that hire, on workers who work, and on families who are trying to save.

We are doing precisely the opposite. Through trade, training, and tax cuts, our economy has generated 1.2 million net new jobs, 80% of them full-time and two-thirds of them in high-wage sectors.

We will continue to lower taxes for job creators and build on what is the greatest economic and job-creation record in the G7.

Mr. Speaker, under the Conservatives, the quality of our job market has reached a 25-year low. Canadian household debt is higher than ever, and families are struggling to make ends meet. The public is calling for a real change in direction.

Tomorrow we will vote on our motion for an economic policy that supports the middle class by helping small-business owners and the manufacturing sector to create jobs.

Pierre PoilievreConservativeMinister of Employment and Social Development and Minister for Democratic Reform

Mr. Speaker, we will never support the New Democrat and Liberal plan, which would increase taxes for small and medium-sized businesses.

First, they are proposing a $1,000 tax on every worker who earns $60,000 a year. Second, they are proposing that we impose that same tax on small and medium-sized businesses. These are job-killing taxes. That is a huge risk.

We will do the opposite by lowering taxes for small and medium-sized businesses and creating jobs.

Steven BlaneyConservativeMinister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

Mr. Speaker, this matter is very clear. Parliament voted to abolish the wasteful and ineffective gun registry because it wanted to stop treating all of the hunters and fishers in this country like second-class citizens.

That is why we reject any suggestion that the RCMP acted inappropriately in destroying the registry's obsolete data. We are proud that we carried out our mandate and respected the will of Parliament.

We will carry on and close the loopholes by means of the budget measures that will be passed by this Parliament.

Mr. Speaker, I assume that is why the government is going to grant a pardon, with Bill C-59, for acts that were allegedly legal. In any case, it is a little hard to understand and to follow.

The Conservatives have mastered the art of taking Canadians for fools, and with just a few days left in this parliamentary session, they are introducing new bills that have no hope of being passed solely for electioneering purposes, including the bill on impaired driving and the bill on victims rights in the military justice system.

Members are being a little premature in their applause. One would think that this far into the Parliament, I would not have to remind them to hold off on their applause until the member for Gatineau has finished asking her question.

Mr. Speaker, I would not be applauding if I were on the government side, knowing that these bills will not pass.

My question is simple: if those issues were such a priority for the Conservatives, why did they not introduce those bills earlier so they could go through the normal channels and have a chance to pass?

Mr. Speaker, what we have here is another example of the utter contempt for Canadians that the government has, and its total cynicism.

The government House leader has actually admitted that it is now tabling bills solely for Conservative partisan purposes, and it is actually using taxpayer money now to draft the Conservative election platform. Issues like impaired driving and ensuring justice for victims in the military require urgent action, so why did the Conservatives wait nearly a decade to table these bills and introduce them only when they know they have no chance of passing?

Peter MacKayConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, as I just said to the member's colleague, we have presented legislation throughout the life of this Parliament, presenting bills to protect victims, a victims bill of rights, cyber legislation under the justice department, bills that were presented to protect children from sexual predators, and now legislation that is designed specifically to protect Canadians from the carnage that occurs on our highways because of impaired drivers.

We intend to work until the very last day of Parliament. That is what Canadians expect. I encourage the hon. member to do the same thing.

Mr. Speaker, in the dying days of this tired government, the Conservatives are rolling out election-style photo ops, wasting millions on partisan advertising and public opinion polling, all on the taxpayer's dime, but now they are introducing bills that they have no intention of passing. This is a cynical, scandal-plagued government attempting to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians one last time. It will not work.

How can the Conservatives justify this blatant self-serving attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of Canadians?

Peter MacKayConservativeMinister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada

Mr. Speaker, I would simply ask the hon. member this. Does he just want to go back to his constituency early? Does he not want to work on the legislation that is currently before the House?

We intend to continue to work, whether it is presenting legislation, whether it is working in committees, whether it is showing up here to discuss the issues that matter. For us, what matters is protecting Canadians, their security, their economic security, working to protect and advance the rights of victims, ensuring that Canadians are feeling safe in their homes, that their incomes are protected, that they are paying less tax. We are building a better Canada. Show up for work.

Show up for work, Mr. Speaker? He should be mentioning that to the Prime Minister. The only work they have been doing lately is defending the perks of their insider pals.

Yesterday, remember how they were defending the $24.5 million hit to taxpayers so that the senators would not have to walk an extra block to work? Now the senators are telling us that Public Works is just wrong and it is only going to cost $13.5 million to save them from walking a block. This is supposed to be a bargain. Only a senator and the Prime Minister would think it was a bargain to make taxpayers pay millions of dollars so that senators would have a cushier life.

Mr. Speaker, the Senate is expensive enough as it is without adding temporary offices that are going to cost taxpayers $13.5 million, or maybe $24.5 million; it is not clear. Even $1 would be too much to spend so that corrupt senators do not have to walk an extra block to get to work. It is unbelievable that the minister would rather defend these corrupt senators than stand up for taxpayers. We are paying for all this nonsense.

When will the minister stop indulging the Conservatives and the senators and get them to listen to reason?